I think I made four calls last month trying to track down the correct spelling of the steep hill between Mount Pleasant and Magnet. I was working up a report on a motorcycle accident on what most people in the area, as well as first responders in the county, call Kusher Hill.

The statistics are staggering. In the United States alone, it is estimated that one in eight women will develop invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. Across the country, the month of October has become a symbol of hope and a time to take special pause to raise awareness and make a difference. This is a job that extends beyond the weeks of October however; it is one that will not be done until we see a decreasing number of sufferers and increasing number of survivors.

All too often, our servicemen and women face economic, educational and medical challenges upon returning home that make it difficult to make use of their unique skills, training and leadership qualities. As a member of the Commission on Military and Veterans Affairs, we have been striving to recognize these challenges and ensure no Hoosier veteran is left behind.

Editor’s note: This is the latest in an occasional series of columns from people who have moved to Perry County or residents who grew up here, moved away and have returned. Today’s columnist, Andy Holliden, is a Tell City native who has returned with his family.

I watched with great interest a “60 Minutes” story Oct. 6 about the abuse and overspending of public money on federal disability programs.

CBS journalist Steve Kroft profiled Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn’s work to ferret out fraud in disability programs. In case you didn’t know how large those programs have become in recent years, some 12 million people now get disability check from the government each month instead of holding down a job.

The American public has lost patience with Washington. The question is, now what?

Congress is unable to do its job. It displays neither competence nor responsibility. It lurches – reeling from crisis to crisis, each one self-manufactured in an effort to postpone the reckoning from some earlier crisis. It shut the government down over a temporary budget.

A quick trip into a corn field last week turned into a sticky situation I’ve yet to extricate myself from. It was more annoying and embarrassing than anything but it proves once again Mother Nature’s amazing abilities.

During a recent 12-month period, 58 people died through acts of domestic violence in Indiana. And just a few weeks ago an abuser in Indianapolis shot and killed a police officer whose brave actions saved the life of the abuser’s girlfriend and her 10-month-old child.